Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

Each time the anniversary of the evacuation from Dunkirk and the fall of France comes round, more paeans of praise are written about the “miraculous” escape. But those eulogizing both the bravery on the beaches and the men who manned those celebrated little ships rarely stop to mention the consequences that would have followed if Operation Dynamo (the name given to the naval operation to evacuate the army from Dunkirk) had not succeeded and if a German invasion had followed.